Oliver's Twist
by Smokin'InkSpills
Summary: Oliver has just run away from his previous life in the dreary orphanage run by couch potatoes. He ends up in the last place he expected, yet the only place he belongs. DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter 1

I didn't know where I was going, I just knew I had to get as far as I can away from there. I'd had it with waking up to shouting at five in the morning, the slop they called food and all the other orphans that thought it was fun to pick on the small, weak kid (well smaller and weaker than the other orphans anyway) that wouldn't be able to defend himself.

I ran with all the strength I had left while being hit with stones and anything my pursuers could find. I was crying and I wanted to stop so badly but I knew if I did, I would get caught and probably killed.

I needed a place to hide. Then, just when I thought I couldn't bear it, I saw a river flowing ahead of me. If I could get across that river then I'll be home free. No way would those fat couch potatoes ever think of actually jumping. It was risky, but it was the only thought that came to my mind. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and jumped. Word of advice: if you ever plan to jump across a river, DO NOT close your eyes. Seriously not a good idea.

I opened my eyes just in time to see my foot slip on the inner edge of the river. I screamed and struggled to regain my balance but with no avail. I fell straight into the river. I tried with all my might to fight the currents but they were just too strong. I was flailing and screaming until I hit my head on a rock and everything went blank.

I woke up to the feeling of something brushing my cheeks. I frowned. My head hurt badly and I could feel warm blood trickling down my forehead, probably where the rock hit me. I didn't know how I survived but I wasn't complaining.

I opened my eyes and closed them quickly. The sunlight shone straight into my face. I moved my head to the side and tried to open them again slowly. The first thing I saw was a squirrel holding my nose as if it wanted to store it for the winter. I wrinkled my nose and the squirrel squeaked and ran up a tree. _Great_, I thought, _I just scared away my first friend._

I moved my head again so I was now facing upwards. Where was I? I sat up slowly (and painfully) and looked around me. It suddenly all came back to me. The orphanage, the couch potatoes pursuing me, the river, and all the while a smile couldn't help but play across my lips. I was free. No more people telling me what to do. No more waiting anxiously for someone to adopt me. I was free to do as I please.

My smile started to fade, however, as I thought of where I was going to sleep, what I was going to eat, etc. All I ever hunted was a dog, and it was already dying. I sighed as I stood up (with the help of a tree) and took in my surroundings fully for the first time since I regained consciousness. I was in a clearing in the middle of some forest. After I cleared my forehead of blood with a leaf (it was the only thing I could find, and it did clean up nicely), I was on my way.

My first goal was getting out of the forest. I got lost several times (if you're homeless can you get lost?), and I ended up back in the clearing more than once. It had started snowing a few hours after I woke up, and I was freezing.

Finally, just as the sky started to get darker, the thicket of trees around me started to get thinner. With a few twists and turns I found my way out. I breathed in the cold night air and sighed which made a small cloud of mist. I looked around, and spotted lights just beyond a hill a few miles away. The hill wasn't very large, so I could climb it, and there was a huge pine tree at the top so I wouldn't lose sight of it. It was my best option, and I thought maybe someone can provide me with supplies or a blanket or anything. A pair of shoes would also be nice. I mean, I wasn't exactly in the best of shape. What with my tattered clothes and my hair being a rat's nest, people weren't going to be very, well, hospitable. Still, if I didn't get help soon I was probably going to starve to death. So, with a deep breath and high hopes I trudged through the snow towards the huge pine tree.

As soon as I got to the base of the hill, I saw just how high it actually was. Plus, it was now covered in snow. I willed myself to shut up and get moving, but part of me was doubtful. Ok so I get over that hill and get to whatever town is beyond it. Then what? What if they turn me out into the snow? Or worse, send me back to the orphanage? What was I, a weak, dyslexic orphan worth to them? Nothing of course. So it all depended on their kindness. I shook my head and started up the hill. It was worth a try, and I didn't exactly have anything to lose.

By the time I reached the top of the hill, the sky was pitch black and strewn with stars. The moon shone brightly and the hill was bathed in its pure light. It even made the pine tree glow golden. Wait a minute, I thought. Moonlight is silver, not golden. I peered at the tree and rubbed my eyes, but it was still golden. Completely baffled, I walked over to it. I looked at its branches and spotted the source of the mysterious light. It was a fleece. An actual golden fleece. I stared at it for a complete minute. What kind of people would paint a fleece golden and place it on a tree branch? I was so lost in thought that I hadn't noticed what was under the tree.

I felt something's warm breath on the back of my neck. I turned around so fast I tripped on what later turned out to be its tail. That's when I looked up at it and nearly fainted. I wasn't quite sure what 'it' was but it was huge. Its yellow fangs were bared at me and its breath did not help my anxiety levels. It had shimmering black scales the size of my head and was about the same length as the pine tree except it was lying down. Its claws looked like they could rip off the head of a dinosaur and its tail was a spiked death machine. I had no idea how I hadn't noticed it before. Its black eyes were surveying me like it was deciding if I'd make a good appetizer. I didn't know what to do. I started to back away slowly but as soon as I took one step back it spread its black wings wide. A thought suddenly came to my mind, but I pushed it away and told myself I was stupid. I stood there frozen, and I would have stayed there all day, except the thing raised its claws, and my instincts took over. I ducked to the side as it brought down its razor sharp claws at me. Without even looking back I got up, jumped over its tail, and ran down the other side of the hill as fast as I could.

Halfway down the hill, I tripped on a rock and practically rolled down the rest of the way. I only stopped when I hit a stone wall. Luckily it wasn't my head that hit it, but it still hurt. I groaned and rolled onto my back. For a second, I just lay there staring up at the sky. Before I knew it I was asleep.

I woke up to the sound of voices nearby. I opened my eyes and looked around me. It was morning and I was still lying next to the stone wall that I hit last night. I sat up and squinted in the daylight. I looked around again and I realized that what I took to be a stone wall was actually the stone pillar of some kind of archway.

I stood and looked up at the writing on the top. It took me a few seconds to decipher, but I finally came up with three words engraved into the stone, "CAMP HALF-BLOOD". Well that was a weird name. I looked through the archway and saw cabins with people walking around and- sword-fighting? That caught my attention. Then I remembered the golden fleece and the black thing that nearly ate me. What was going on?

No one seemed to take any notice of me, so I just passed through the archway. Before I could even think where to go next, I noticed everyone in the area staring at me. I stared back and thought, maybe this wasn't such a great idea. It took all my courage, but I managed to get a few words out of my mouth.

"Um, hi. I was just wandering around the woods nearby, and I happened to pass here and I was wondering if, well, if maybe you had some food or clothes, or something 'cause I'm kind of traveling and—" my voice faltered at the looks these people were giving me. They were looking at me like I was a freak or something.

Then a blonde girl that looked a lot older than me stepped forward and faced the what I now realized were probably campers, and said in an intimidating, but convincing voice, "Alright everyone get back to your daily activities. Its just another camper. I'll take care of him."

Apparently she had a good rep 'cause everyone just walked off like I was a mildly interesting TV show that just turned cliché. I can't say I wasn't relieved though. I was about to say something to her, to thank her at least, but she beat me to it.

She turned around and faced me. It was a bit embarrassing, because she literally had to look down at me. Her gaze was as intimidating as her speech. She had startling grey eyes that wouldn't take no for answer. Her skin was tan, and her blonde hair fell in curls over her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Um, where exactly am I? And who are you?"

"I'll answer all your questions in a minute, but I'll need to know your name first," she said with a small smile. She didn't treat me like a poor unintelligent orphan. She talked to me like a normal person, and that alone meant the world to me.

"Oliver," I said simply. She held out her hand as if to shake mine. "Annabeth," she said. I shook her hand. "That's one question answered. As for where you are," she sighed and looked away. Her expression turned sad as she turned to face me again. "You're at camp half-blood. A camp for people like you and me."

"A camp for…orphans?" I asked, because I couldn't think of anything else we would be classified as.

Annabeth gave a small sympathetic smile and said in a gentle voice, "No, Oliver. Not orphans. Camp half-blood is a camp for demigods. Which means people who are-"

"Half human, half god, yeah I know what a demigod is," I said, trying to understand what she had just said. "B-but those are just myths right? I mean we…I…I can't be a demigod. The gods, th-they can't be real. They're not real," I said, more to myself than anything, because if what she said is true, then maybe I'm not an orphan after all.

"You're dyslexic, probably ADHD as well. You're an orphan, and you see weird things that no one else can see. Am I right?" I nodded my head slowly, astonished at how she said that as if she'd experienced it all herself. "Those are sure signs of being a demigod," she continued. "The ADHD is because of your battle reflexes. You're always ready to fight. You have trouble reading English because your brain is designed to read Ancient Greek. As for the gods being real, they are and they're still having kids with mortals like they did in the myths. Which is why we're here. One of your parents is mortal , but the other is an Olympian god."

I stood there, my legs as numb as my brain. Demigod? Me? No way. That can't be real. Either Annabeth was pulling my leg, or I was dreaming. Yeah that's it I hit my head more than once that day so I must be unconscious. I pinched myself. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened. I nearly pinched myself to death before Annabeth stopped me. "Stop, Oliver, you're not dreaming." Is it just me or is she really smart?

"There is no way I can be a demigod, Annabeth," I said miserably. "I'm just an orphan that wandered into your camp by mistake. Maybe what you say is true, but I'm not part of it."

"This is no mistake Oliver. A mortal can't enter the boundaries of the camp. They wouldn't even see it as a camp. You are a demigod, and whether you like it or not you are a part of this camp. Now come with me," and with that she started to walk towards a light blue building. It was actually like a sort of lake house, except it was much more dilapidated than any lake house I'd ever seen. I didn't know what else to do, so I followed her. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"I'm taking you to the Big House to see Chiron and Mr. D. Be nice and don't forget your manners unless you want to be incinerated."

And with that I followed my newest friend to the light blue Big House.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing I noticed when we entered the Big House was an old ladder leading up to a worn out trapdoor. I looked around and my eyes settled on two men sitting around a small picnic table playing cards.

One of them was sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a tweed jacket, which looked pretty normal compared to what I'd just experienced. The other man, however, was one bizarre sight. He was a short, plump man, with bloodshot eyes, and he wore a tiger print shirt over his purple warm up pants. A gold laurel rested on his curly black hair.

Annabeth bowed slightly to the laurel dude and turned to the wheelchair guy. "Chiron, this is Oliver," she said, beckoning for me to come forward. "He came across our borders by accident, but turns out he's a half-blood."

"Half-blood?" I whispered to Annabeth.

"It's another term for demigod," she replied.

Chiron looked me over and took in my appearance. I blushed slightly when his face turned into a slight frown. Outside, I had tried to brush the dirt off my auburn hair, which was probably as black as the laurel dude's, not to mention it was shaggy and uncut. I was pale and my amber eyes had shadows under their lids, so I looked like a vampire minus the teeth. My clothes were ragged and patched. I was expecting Chiron to kick me out and call me a beggar or something, but he only asked, "How old are you Oliver?"

The question surprised me. What surprised me even more is that I had to actually _think_ about the answer. Time at the orphanage was pretty messed up and the last birthday I celebrated was the last one with my mother, my fourth. Finally I said, "thirteen, I think."

That's when the laurel dude spoke. "Thirteen? I'm surprised you managed to live that long. What followed you here? A chipmunk?" his tone was bored and skeptical, and his eyes never left his cards. He reminded me too much of the couch potatoes back at the orphanage to like him.

"No, nothing followed me here," I answered, trying to sound calm and knowing, even though I had no idea what anyone was talking about.

"what?"

"I wasn't followed by anything. Like Annabeth said, I just stumbled across this camp and then she found me and told me all about this…stuff," I finished lamely.

Chiron looked bewildered and had his eyebrows raised. For a moment, even the laurel dude looked surprised. Then his expression turned bored again and he said stiffly, "This 'stuff' is your life now, boy. You'd do well to remember that." His voice was still bored, but I thought he sounded a bit angry as well.

Chiron look at me, then turned to the laurel dude and smiled nervously. "Mr. D, the boy meant no offense. He is simply confused," he turned to me and Annabeth. "Annabeth, take young Oliver to his cabin to get changed and then you can both go down to the dining pavilion. A shower wouldn't hurt either."

That sounded like pure luxury to me, so I turned and got ready to leave, but Annabeth just stood there with an anxious expression. "Um, that's what I came to talk to you about. Oliver is…well he's undetermined."

I didn't know what that meant, but from the worried look on Chiron's face I could tell it wasn't a very good thing to be undetermined. There was a long silence, until Mr. D broke it by chuckling suddenly and saying, "dear me, it seems that my dear family has already forgotten their agreement."

"They can't have. We keep getting new demigods everyday," but even as he said it, he looked uncertain. "Now enough of this. Annabeth, put him in the Hermes cabin until further notice. Perhaps he will get claimed tonight at the campfire."

Then he did something that almost gave me a seizure. He stood up, but that's not the bad part. On the contrary, it made me happy to think he wasn't really handicapped. No, what almost gave me a heart attack was the fact that when he stood up his legs and wheelchair sort of transformed into a horse's body. I was so shocked and freaked out I could hardly breathe.

Chiron must have noticed my expression, because as soon as he looked at me, he smiled kindly and said, "Don't worry Oliver, you're not going mad. I am a centaur, and your trainer for as long as you stay here. Annabeth, do as I said and try to introduce him to the campers. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an archery class to get to. Pleasure to meet you Oliver." And with that, my centaur-trainer left the Big House with a bow and quiver slung across his back.

"You'd better not be here when I come back," said Mr. D and he vanished in a wisp of purple smoke that smelled kind of like grapes.

After Annabeth had told me about the Big three gods, the agreement the Olympians made last summer, and the fact that Mr. D was actually Dionysus, God of wine, and shown me around the basic camp areas (the cabins, the bathrooms, the dining pavilion, the archery range, the climbing wall etc.) she took me over to the plain wooden cabin that she said was the Hermes cabin, messenger of the Gods, and also God of travelers, which is why his cabin accepted all undetermined half bloods, which meant those who didn't know who their Olympian parent is. I was pretty sure mine was my father, 'cause I could remember my mom pretty well. Her smile, her warm hands on my face…

"So here we are," said Annabeth. "Don't worry, everyone's probably at the dining pavilion. Take a bath, get dressed and meet me outside the Athena cabin, the one with the owl on it. Take your time, I'll wait." And with a last smile, she walked off to her cabin, leaving me alone in front of the Hermes cabin's old, weathered door.

After I cleaned up and put on my new clothes (blue jeans and a sky blue t-shirt), I went over to the Athena cabin and met with Annabeth. She was wearing her usual orange camp half-blood t-shirt and jeans. She grinned when she saw me. "Whoa, now that's definitely an improvement. Alright, lets go."

She led me to the Greek- style dining pavilion and took me inside. She pointed to the Hermes table, and told me how they burn offerings to their Olympian parents. Then she walked off to the Athena table, and left me no choice but to go and meet my new cabin mates.


	3. Chapter 3

I slowly approached the Hermes table and sat down at the edge of the bench. Soon, we all had plates of fresh barbecue and empty cups in front of us. I waited for a few seconds, and sure enough, everyone stood up and went to a flaming brazier and dropped a portion of their food into it. I followed them and did the same, but as I was getting back to my table, my path was blocked by a brick wall wearing a camp half blood t-shirt.

I looked up slowly and saw a really big guy with a very angry face looking down at me. His muscled arms looked like they could break my neck without breaking a sweat. And by the angry look on his face, he seemed to be considering it.

"You're in my way," he said. His plate was breaking in half from the pressure he was exerting on it.

"Why don't you go from a different way?" I asked. It was an innocent question to me, but apparently, there was no reasoning with this guy. Some of the campers behind me gasped.

"What did you say?" He was red and looked about ready to explode.

"Um…..nothing?"

He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and started to shake me. I thought I might lose a tooth if he kept this up. Suddenly, he let go of me with a yelp, and was blowing on his hands. I fell with a thud on the hard wooden floor and heard a crack. I cried out in pain as my arm broke.

I was feeling dizzy and sick. I was trying not to puke, but one look at my arm did it. I felt myself being dragged away, probably by Chiron judging from the clip clops on the wood, before I blacked out completely.

* * *

_A four year old boy sat in bed, scared to death from the nightmare he just had, and calling out to his only comfort. "Mom! Mommy!" _

_He heard footsteps running up the stairs and his mother burst into his room. She was wearing an elegant, navy blue velvet dress with a high collar. She wore pearl earrings and a pearl bracelet that didn't show, due to her dress' long sleeves. Strands of her auburn hair fell in curls down to her pale shoulders while the rest was held up into an elegant bun. Her dark blue eyes filled with concern over seeing her boy so frightened._

"_Oliver, sweetie, are you alright?" she said as she sat on his bed and hugged him tightly. "Did you have another bad dream?" her voice was calm, but it seemed to get quieter with every word. Oliver nodded. He was crying all over his mother's dress, but she didn't care. Her husband can stall their guests until she came back. Her son was more important than a silly party._

_They sat there for a few more minutes, his mother rocking him back and forth and muttering calm words into his ears. Finally, Oliver started to calm down. His mother tucked him in and sat back down on the edge of his bed. _

_They sat in silence, until Oliver asked suddenly, _"_Mommy, do we have to go to auntie Ursula's tomorrow?"_

"_I'm afraid we do, sweetie."_

"_Why?" _

_She sighed. She was afraid he would ask that. "Well, sweetheart, we haven't seen her in a while, and there are some things we need to talk about with her."_

"_Why can't we see auntie .A.? She's more fun."_

"_Auntie .A. is…busy. We'll see her soon, though. Oh, you reminded me. She got you a birthday present." She stood up and left the room. A second later, she came back holding a large yet intricately designed jewelry box. "She gave this to me when you were just a few months old. She told me to give it to you when you're old enough." She pushed the jewelry box toward him and waited for him to open it. Oliver looked at his mother. "What is it?" he asked._

"_I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "I imagine its something you would like. Your aunt is good at guessing that." Oliver opened the box and took out a beautiful pocket watch that had designs as intricate as the ones on the box engraved onto its antique silver surface. Oliver, who had opened the pocket watch expecting to see roman numerals in a circle and two silver handles ticking away, gasped at what he saw. _

_Instead, he saw stars, spangled as accurately as they would be in the night sky. He could see the constellations his mother told him about, and the north star that travelers used to find their way. What intrigued him most was that the stars moved around, and every once in a while they would change their position. His mother gasped slightly as well. Auntie .A. would not give this to_ anyone. _Which could only mean that her son was part of something. Something his father would have known about all along._

"_Its beautiful," said Oliver, "but what is it?"_

_At this, his mother took him by the shoulders gently and hugged him. She took the pocket watch and pointed to an especially bright star. The north star. "This is a Star Compass. Whenever you lose your way, use this to guide you. As long as you hold this, you will always find your way. As long as you hold this, you will always be safe…"_

_

* * *

_

I woke suddenly and sat up, only to fall back onto my pillow as a sharp pain went through my arm. For a minute I had thought myself back in my bedroom talking with my mom. But that was impossible. She was gone along with my house and all my belongings. Well, _almost_ all…

I impatiently brushed the tears out of my eyes and stood up, only to sit back down as my head spun. I was really knocked out. I looked around and realized I was back at the Hermes cabin, which was completely empty. Again. I realized with a shock that I hadn't met any campers besides Annabeth yet, not even my cabin mates, like I was quarantined or something.

I closed my eyes for a second, then tried again. with the support of my right hand and the old wooden wall I was able to get to my tattered clothes, which sat in a heap on the floor two beds across from my sleeping bag.

After some serious searching, I found the lump I was looking for. I found the pocket's opening and dug my hand inside. I felt the cold engravings on the outside. I pulled it out and ran my fingers over its silver surface. I opened it and stared at the Star Compass' clear glass windows. By clear I mean literally clear. There was nothing there, save for the rippling blue surface, as if it were a pond and not a compass. That meant it was still morning. I slammed its small doors closed in frustration. I would have to wait until the stars were out and visible.

Someone knocked on the cabin door. I stood up and put the compass in my jacket pocket, and put the jacket on, just as two kids that looked like brothers came in.

"Hey, Oliver," said the taller of the two. "I'm Travis Stoll and this is my brother, Connor," he said pointing to the shorter boy next to him. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks. Is something wrong?" I asked, because Connor was shifting nervously from side to side, while Travis looked uneasy.

"Not really, but Chiron sent us to get you if you were awake. They're having a meeting in the Big House, and he won't start until you arrive."

I felt the weight of the Star Compass in my jacket pocket. "_As long as you hold this, you will always find your way…" _At the time, I didn't think about what that could mean. What would a four year old need to find the way to, the kitchen? But I had a feeling I was going to find out all too soon.

So, without question, I followed the two brothers out into the morning sun, and towards the sky blue Big House.


	4. Chapter 4

It was only the second time I enter the big house, but I still doubted that it was ever this full, simply because it just wasn't made to accommodate so many people. As the Stoll brothers disappeared into the crowd, I spotted Annabeth coming towards me. She looked worried and…what was that expression? Sympathy? I couldn't tell.

As soon as she reached me she grabbed my wrist and said, "Oliver, come with me. They want you at the main table." I didn't know what she was talking about, as usual, but I followed her anyway. Kind of hard not to, considering she was holding my wrist in a life-or-death sort of way.

She dragged me through the crowd behind her like some sort of rag doll. I kept bumping into people and tripping but she didn't even glance back at me once. She seemed to be waist-deep in her own thoughts.

After a few more minutes of shoving, we got to what I guessed was the main table. Crowds just as big as the ones at the entrance stood around it, but only a few select people actually sat at the table. What's worse is that they were all looking at me, each with a different expression.

They looked as different from each other as the cabins outside. There was a girl with a bow slung across her back. She had spiky black hair and electric blue eyes and was looking at me like she wasn't sure whether to shoot me with an arrow or just leave me be for now. Right next to her, sat a pale, dark-haired boy that was probably no more than fourteen or fifteen, but his expression made him look a lot sadder and older, like he'd been through a lot. His clothes were dirty and he was panting slightly as if he'd run all the way here.

More people sat across them: a burly girl that looked a lot like the guy that had almost knocked me out, a guy with sweat pouring down his face and had scars and burns that ran down his muscled arms, another girl that looked like a makeup factory, and a lot of others that looked unique to the person next to them. They were now all staring at me like it was my fault they were here. Chiron stood, in full horse form, at the head of the table. A red-haired girl stood next to him wearing what looked like a school uniform.

I stared back not knowing what to do or what to say. Luckily, I didn't have to, as Annabeth, in her strong intimidating voice, started to speak. "Ok. Most of you don't even know why you're here. A lot of you have made some guesses," she turned to look at two other boys sitting at the table, who I now recognized as the Stoll brothers. I hadn't even seen them walk in. "Which, turned out to be mostly untrue."

"Mostly," repeated the dark-haired boy. "Which part is true, then?"

Annabeth stared at him for a second, then said, "It is true that we have an unclaimed demigod among us," she pointed at me. "It is true that he is thirteen," a few gasps, "and it is most likely true, that he is the one to get the prophecy." At this, everyone at the table stared with complete shock at Annabeth and me. Everyone else standing went quiet, and looked just as confused as I felt.

Finally I spoke up. "Um, what prophecy exactly?"

Annabeth looked at me. "Well, that's kind of the point, we don't know it yet," she sighed then continued, "Thing is, Oliver, for the past year, every time someone tried for a prophecy, nothing would happen. No one went on quests anymore. Then even the gods stopped responding. Claimed demigods were becoming rarer. Monsters became just as rare. It was as if Olympus had shut down along with the whole Greek world," she faced the table. "Guys, if this doesn't work, if it doesn't take us a step ahead….I don't know what will." She sounded tired, and I felt bad. For her, and everyone else who looked just as down. I really wanted to help, but I couldn't do anything before I understood what was going on. I didn't want to mess thing up.

Chiron stepped forward. "Then we had better find out as soon as possible," he turned to the girl next to him and gestured towards me. "Rachel, if you please." Rachel came up to me. Up close, I could see her green eyes and a few freckles across her nose. "Ollivander," she began.

"Um, Rachel, its Oliver," Annabeth corrected.

"Oops, sorry. Oliver, ask your question."

I just stared at her blankly. Question? No one said that I had to ask anything. I started to sweat. Everyone's eyes were on me, expecting me to ask this question that's supposed to help them. "W-what do I ask?"

Rachel turned to Annabeth with a puzzled look. Annabeth stood in thought for a minute. "About your destiny or purpose in life. That should lead to something helpful."

I gulped. I didn't know why, but I was now shaking. Then I asked the question that changed my life more than I could ever have imagined. I took a deep breath, looked Rachel straight in the eye, and asked. "What is my destiny?"

Everyone held their breaths. There was a long pause. Then Rachel fell over and touched the ground with her palms. Her eyes glowed- I mean literally glowed- green. Like, neon green. Then she spoke in a voice that sounded like ten of her were speaking at once,

_Fourteen Olympians, once divided,_

_Campers shall stand as one, united._

_An unclaimed child of light shall rise,_

_And find what will cause the gods' demise,_

_To destroy or keep, a choice to be made,_

_Olympus shall either strengthen or fade._

I stared with my mouth open in shock. I didn't really care much for the prophecy considering I just saw someone go green and speak ten times at once. Rachel stood up unsteadily, and Annabeth helped her into a chair. "Did I just…?" she half asked.

Annabeth nodded speechlessly. She looked at me, then at the people at the table, who were just as dumbstruck. I guess they heard what they wanted. After a long silence, and I mean long, like an hour maybe, Annabeth stood and said, "I can't believe it."

The burly girl that looked like the guy who knocked me out stood and said, "ok, so we got the prophecy. Great, but we still don't know what it means."

Annabeth sighed. "Clarisse, just thank the gods we got one."

"We all would if they actually listened," muttered the spiky haired girl.

Annabeth looked at the ceiling as if expecting something to happen. Nothing did. She sighed then turned to the girl. "Yes, Thalia, we're getting to that. Alright, so, any suggestions to what it might mean?"

"Well, obviously the gods are fighting. We knew that already. And we're standing united as campers just as it said," said Connor.

"Ok, so the first two lines of the prophecy describe the time in which it would happen," said Annabeth. "And I think we all guessed what the third line means," she paused and looked at me. I stared at her. I looked at Chiron for support. "Unclaimed child of light shall rise…me?" I asked in a small voice. Chiron nodded. "I think we can all agree that Oliver is that child. A child of light. A child of Apollo, god of the sun and prophecy."

I was shocked. I couldn't speak. I mean, they told me I would ask for the prophecy, but I didn't think I would be in it. Which was pretty stupid, come to think of it, since I asked about my destiny. But to find out who my father was, now that was shocking. I began to get angry. He was a god! God of prophecy, no less. And he had just sat there on his throne in Olympus and watched my mother die in a fire that left me a homeless orphan. A fire he knew would happen….

I felt my face flush as I realized that my tears were obvious to everyone in front of me. I wiped them away quickly and said, "so, find what will cause the gods' demise…what could that be?"

To my surprise Annabeth smiled slightly, "Think. What would the gods fight over?"

"Suspected mutiny?"

"Ruling the world?"

"Marriage affairs?"

"Well, yes, but not this time. Think back to Percy's first quest."

I didn't know who Percy was, but apparently his quest was pretty well known and remembered judging by everyone's look of sudden understanding.

"No way. Not again," groaned Thalia.

Annabeth nodded. "But this time, all fourteen symbols of power have been stolen." I looked at her. It made perfect sense. I didn't know too much about the gods but I could imagine all of them blaming each other. Then something struck me. "Wait, fourteen? I thought there were only twelve Olympians."

Annabeth frowned, but it was the dark-haired kid who answered. "Well, actually fourteen, if you consider Hestia and Hades."

"Brilliant, Nico, except that Hades is not an Olympian," Clarisse sneered.

Nico scowled. "Hades deserves to be an Olympian more than Ares does." Clarisse looked as if she'd been slapped in the face. Then she stood, her face contorted with anger. "Come say that again to my face, ghost boy," she said in a low voice. Nico looked calmly back at her, though I knew he must be pretty angry. "You're not worth my time," he answered.

Clarisse was beside herself with rage. "Not WORTH YOUR TIME?" She grabbed Nico by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall. "Clarisse!" Chiron and Annabeth said at the same time. Nico stood, and touched his bleeding forehead gingerly. Then, just as I thought he would fight back, he came and sat back down at the table shaking with anger. "Enough, both of you." Chiron went over and stood behind Nico. But Clarisse was not going to give up easily. "What's the matter, ghost boy? Too weak to fight?" He looked at her with disgust and looked away. "Typical son of Hades. A coward." Nico stood up so fast he knocked over his chair. "I am not a coward."

"Clarisse, I said that is enough! Nico, sit down!" Chiron shouted. "We must figure out this prophecy as fast as possible, and it does not help when you two are fighting!" Clarisse and Nico glared at each other then sat back into their seats. "Now, I believe Nico was correct in guessing that fourteen Olympians must mean Hestia and Hades are included. And with Annabeth, about their symbols of power being taken."

"Well, we figured out the quest," Thalia said. "But what about the last two lines?"

Chiron looked uneasy. "I don't know. I have a few guesses but that is all."

He turned to me. "Now, my boy, this is your quest. You are allowed two companions. You may choose now." I looked around. I hardly knew anyone. "Annabeth, definitely, if she doesn't mind," I said, and she nodded. "But I don't know who else to take." I looked around again, and my eyes rested on Thalia. I could use another archer.

She saw me and said, "I don't travel with boys." I looked at her, confused, but decided not to press further. Then my eyes found Nico. If he was a son of Hades, that could help a lot. On the other hand, he would attract a lot of monsters. It took me a few minutes, but I finally decided.

"I choose Annabeth and Nico to accompany me on this quest."


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Chiron got everyone managed to get out of the Big House and get back to their cabins, it was already after noon. When everyone was out, Annabeth, Nico, and I were the only ones left. Chiron had left us to plan our next move in peace.

"So…now what?" I asked. I was sitting on the main table with my feet resting on two of the chairs. Nico was swinging back and forth on his chair with his arms crossed. Annabeth just remained standing.

"We need to figure out where we're going to start." She walked over to one end of the dusty room and gently took down one of the maps hanging there. "Alright, so we are here," she said spreading the map out on the table and pointing at a faded spot somewhere around the middle. "Any suggestions?" she looked from me to Nico. I shook my head while Nico just shrugged. Annabeth sighed. "Guys, we're never going to get anywhere like this. Nico, stop swinging on that chair, and Oliver get over here. We need a plan."

Nico looked at her resentfully, but stopped swinging. I moved close enough to hear what they were saying. We sat in silence for a few minutes, until Nico broke it. "How are we going to find out where to go? We don't even know what to look for!"

"We need to find their symbols of power. The master bolt for Zeus, the trident for Poseidon—"

"The helm of darkness for Hades, I know. But what about the rest of them? We don't know what their symbols of power are," Nico argued.

"Aphrodite's is a dove I think," Annabeth said thoughtfully. "Or a bumblebee…"

"Oh, excellent. Now all we have to do is pick out every bumblebee in Long Island Sound and ask Aphrodite which one is hers. Piece of cake," Nico said sarcastically.

"Or dove," I said quietly. Nico heard me and scowled.

"I think we should look up the Olympians' symbols and figure out which are the most likely to be stolen," Annabeth suggested. "Its all we can do for now." And without waiting for us, she left the room without another word.

Nico and I just sighed and followed her. Both of us knew better than to challenge Annabeth's methods.

"Yes! Oh wait, that's just another list of names…"

"Guys, over here! No, my bad, my bad…."

We were in the Camp library which neither me, (nor Nico, apparently), knew even existed. We decided to shout out if we thought we found something, which wasn't a very good idea since it was happening every few seconds. Finally, Annabeth shouted out, "Guys, I found it."

We walked from our ends of the library towards hers to find her holding a very old, very thick, leather-bound book, which didn't strike us as very surprising since we let her handle all the big books, which, to us, meant above fifty pages. The golden title on the binding read _"A Demigod's Guide to the Greek World". _On the page Annabeth had opened, there was a full description of each of the Olympian gods, complete with old faded pictures. On the side of the page, there were the symbols of each of the gods.

"Yes! Annabeth, this is awesome," I said, glad that we were finally getting somewhere.

"We should write these down as a checklist," Nico suggested. Annabeth nodded. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and began copying the symbols onto it. When she was done she showed us what she'd written:

_**Zeus – Master bolt**_

_**Hera – Pomegranate/crown**_

_**Poseidon – Trident**_

_**Hades – Helm of Darkness**_

_**Dionysus – Ivy/cup**_

_**Apollo – Lyre/bow and arrow**_

_**Artemis – Cypress tree/bow and arrow**_

_**Hermes – Caduceus**_

_**Athena – Olive tree/ owl**_

_**Ares – Spear/shield **_

_**Aphrodite – Apple/rose/seashell**_

_**Hephaestus – Anvil/ax/hammer**_

_**Demeter – Wheat**_

_**Hestia - Kettle**_

"Oh-kay," Nico said. "This is going to take a while."

"It does seem a bit difficult," Annabeth admitted. "But I'm hoping it'll get easier as we progress."

"_When_ we progress," Nico said. "Which doesn't seem to be too soon."

"Well, then, we better get started," I said. "So, Annabeth where do we begin?"

Annabeth bit her lip. "I really have no clue. We don't even know _who_ took them. They could be anywhere." Everyone was silent for a minute or two until Nico said, "Hey, guys, I just thought of something." He took the list of symbols and read it over. "Look here. Some of the gods have multiple symbols that could have been taken, right?" We both nodded. "What if they're like, I don't know, combined or something? Like with Dionysus, it could be a cup hidden in the ivy, and Artemis a bow and arrow in a cypress tree or something like that?"

Annabeth looked at the paper thoughtfully. "You know, Nico," she said. "That's not a bad idea." I could almost see the gears in her brain turning as she examined it closer. "Alright, here's the plan," she said suddenly. "We start at each of the gods' and goddesses' sources of power and move on from there."

"Ok, where do we start?" I asked.

"I think we should start with the big three," Annabeth said quietly.

"Ok, but which one?" I asked.

Nico and Annabeth glanced at each other and a sudden understanding passed between them. "Poseidon," Nico said. "So, the ocean. But which one?" he asked looking at Annabeth.

Annabeth took up the map again and pointed. "The Pacific ocean. Poseidon's largest domain."

I couldn't sleep that night. I had already settled into the Apollo cabin with the help of the cabin counselor, Will Solace, but I still couldn't get used to it. Nico, Annabeth and I decided to leave as soon as possible, which we finally decided would be before dawn. Dawn, which was only a few hours away. So, before dawn would be less than a few hours away. Great. I turned over and took out a silver pocket watch out of my pile of clothes which I always kept next to me. Of course, it wasn't a pocket watch. It was a Star Compass. I still had no idea what it did, but I knew it was pretty awesome. And probably important. I still remembered the last words my mother had said about it, the night she gave it to me. _Whenever you lose your way, use this to guide you…As long as you hold this, you will always be safe…" _ When she had first said that, I thought it was just a statement, a mere piece of advice from a concerned mother to her son.

Now, it sounded more sinister, more meaningful. I opened the Compass and looked at its large glass windows. The stars were there again, the very same ones I saw when I was four.

Then something clicked in my mind. Indirectly, Auntie A. supposedly gave this to me. Auntie_ A._ My _father's_ sister…who was _always busy_, gave me a _Star _Compass. I gasped quietly. _Artemis_, I thought. She gave this to me. But…why?

Another thought struck me. My mother knew about all this. She knew that my father was a god and that I was a demigod. And she never told me. She had let me cry and feel angry at my father, even though she told me he had died. Worst of all, she wrote in her will for Aunt Ursula to take care of me, which, of course, resulted in me being left at the mercy of the orphanage.

I was so mad, I was about to throw the Compass back into the heap of clothes when I heard something rustling outside the cabin. I stiffened, and put the Compass back gently. Then I slowly got out of bed and walked out of the cabin.

I couldn't see anything at first. The night was chilly and foggy. Then I felt something nudging my foot. I looked down to see none other than my friend the squirrel, the one that had thought my nose was a nut what seemed like ages ago. I knew it was the same squirrel because of the peculiar spot on its tail. I kneeled to take a closer look and realized that it wasn't just a random spot. It was a shape, the shape of a….lyre?

A few days ago, I would have just marveled at nature's many wonders. Now, however, I knew this wasn't just coincidence. So, when it ran off into the camp's forest, I just had to follow.

I followed the squirrel deep into the forest until we reached a clearing. It was dark and chilly and I was simply exhausted, but for some reason I couldn't leave. Then, as faint as breaking dawn, the clearing seemed to become the slightest bit brighter. Slowly, it got lighter and lighter until it was too bright for me to look. When I turned back to the clearing, I saw a figure standing in the middle of it. And it was the least expected sight to see in the middle of a clearing in the middle of the night.

There stood a handsome young man of about nineteen with blond hair and blue eyes and had a tan you wouldn't get in California. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans with IPod headphones sticking out of the left pocket. He looked just like any ordinary college student, so I was shocked out of my wits when he held his arms out to me and said, "My son."

I stared at him. His _what?_ "Excuse me?" I said.

He put his arms down and sighed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Apollo, god of the sun, music, poetry, and pro—"

"And prophecy, I know," I said, suddenly angry. Now he remembers he has a son named Oliver. "Though it seems you're not doing a very good job on that are you?" I knew it was probably not a good idea to anger a god, but I was seriously fuming.

Apollo stiffened. "I sent you that prophecy. Father was not happy, but I had to help you," he looked down slightly. "You're my son."

"Now you remember?" I was shaking with anger. Then I got straight to the point that had been nagging me ever since I found out who my father was. "You knew what would happen, didn't you? You knew how mom would die and when. And you just sat there watching and did nothing!"

"I couldn't do anything—" he started, but I cut him off.

"You didn't try! I was four and my mother and stepfather had just died, and no one gave me comfort or consolation. No, instead I was left to the police who kept asking me questions I didn't know how to answer, and then the orphanage! You could have helped if you wanted, but you just didn't care," tears were running down my face now. "If you did you wouldn't have let that happen. You didn't even claim me. I was just another demigod child to you. So what if my life had been torture? What did it matter to you?"

Apollo looked surprised. "It did matter. I wanted to do something, but I couldn't. I am the god of prophecy, so I should know, of all people, that you can't change or play with fate. I didn't want to claim you, because…well, I didn't want to believe you were _her_ child, the one who suffered most among all my other children, the one with more right to blame me than anyone else. I am truly sorry for everything."

I was crying in front of my godly father, which must have looked really pathetic to him, but I didn't care. I was confused and angry and tired. "So why don't you claim me now? I already blamed you and everything, so you have nothing to fear."

Apollo sighed. "Ah, well, about that…you see, I….can't."

"Why not?"

"Because of the prophecy. An unclaimed child of light shall rise…well, being the god of prophecy, I do have to respect the oracle's wishes. So, yeah…."

We stood there in an awkward silence. The squirrel, which seemed to disappear throughout the conversation, peeked out from behind Apollo's head. I brushed the tears away with the back of my hand and asked something that had been on my mind for a while now. "So, um, what's with the squirrel?"

Apollo instantly grinned. Wow. Gods do get over things quickly. "This is Quincy. I found him while hunting with my sister and we sort of bonded. I sent him to look after you as soon as you ran away."

Okay. So, my father sent a squirrel to look after me. I can deal with that. Apollo leaned over so he was now at my height level. His face was set and serious. "Now, look, Oliver. You have a pretty difficult journey ahead of you. I can't tell you much, except that you're going about it the right way. Listen to that child of Athena, they usually know nearly as much as I do," he snickered. "No, but seriously, its going to be tough. I will try to send you, um, visions, I guess you would call them, as often as I can. Athena and Hades are on your side too. We'll give you as many hints as we can. So, good luck and please be careful. Now, go get some sleep before dawn. I'll try to delay it as much as I can."

He gave one last wink and vanished into thin air. I gave the clearing one last look, then started going back to camp to get some sleep. Apparently, I was going to need it.

**A/N: Apollo does seem OOC, I know, but that's just how I think he would act with his son. I don't know, you tell me. This is a pretty long chapter, the longest I think, but I just wanted to get all the planning done so that the rest will be dedicated to the journey itself. Hope you liked it, and if not, please tell me in a review and the reason if you could. Flames are always welcome, but please be respectful.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Tell me again why we're going so early," Nico yawned. The sky was just beginning to light up with my dad's awesome sun chariot (or so they told me), and he, Annabeth, and I were standing at the crest of Half-blood hill with Chiron and Argus, a blond dude with eyes on every visible spot on his body. The plan was to borrow his van and drive to the coast where we would continue our journey by sea on a ship Chiron managed to 'borrow' from a 'friend'.

"We need to leave as soon as possible," Annabeth replied. She looked tired too. It seemed none of us had slept last night. "Besides, dawn is a good time to start a quest. You gain the day from its beginning."

"What's the point if we're like zombies?" Nico asked.

"Quit complaining Nico. You can sleep on the ship," Annabeth said wearily. She turned to Chiron. "We should go now. We'll IM you as often as we can," she said.

"Good luck, my dear," Chiron said. "We will meet again soon, I hope."

She hugged him and started down the hill. Nico and I shook hands with him. Just as I was about to follow Nico and Annabeth down the hill, Chiron took my wrist. "Ah, Oliver. A word before you leave," he said. "I have come to understand that you spoke with your father last night." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. I nodded. "May I inquire as to what he told you?" he asked. I looked at him in surprise. I didn't think he would ask if it wasn't important, so I told him about Apollo's advice. Only his advice. When I was done, Chiron looked at me like he knew I was holding back, but didn't push it. Either way I was not going to admit that I cried in front of an Olympian god and was being looked after by Quincy the squirrel. "Alright, thank you Oliver. Good luck on your journey, and be careful."

I nodded and ran down the hill after my two companions towards my so-called destiny.

"We're lost."

"No, we're not."

"Face it Annabeth. We are so lost," Nico said.

"Listen, ghost boy," Annabeth said, getting frustrated. "I am a daughter of Athena. We do _not_ get lost."

"Whatever you say. But we're still lost."

Nico and Annabeth were arguing in the front while I just stared at them, too tired to do anything. I had to agree with Nico however. We've been driving for nearly three hours now when the trip should have taken half an hour maximum. What's more, Annabeth drove like a maniac when she wanted to. Although Nico had a permit, she was the most qualified to drive, so we let her drive.

I looked out of the window and saw it had started to rain. A thought suddenly came to me. An old memory of my mother shouting at my stepfather about something. Wait, not my stepfather. My father. I don't know how I knew, but I was sure it was Apollo. She was shouting about some books that got wet because of an open window in the library. And she said something about this being his father's fault and him telling her to be careful. Then she laughed and said that he shouldn't worry. I must have been, what, four?

I missed her. I missed her smile, I missed the cookies she used to make when I was upset, and the chamomile she made me when I was sick. I missed the way she would hold me when I had a bad dream and tell me that it would all go away with a small pinch. I wondered where I found the time to remember so many things about her. I was only four when she died. I sometimes got glimpses of the fire that destroyed my life but I pushed them away. I didn't want to remember.

I was just about to drift off when Annabeth suddenly pulled the brake. With a screech the van pulled to a stop. I jumped in surprise and looked out the window. We were on a highway now, and cars were zooming past us and drivers yelling insults. Nico was just as shocked and was breathing heavily. Annabeth seemed to be calculating something, then as quickly as she stopped, drove across four lanes of the highway. Nico and I were screaming, cars were honking and pulling brakes, drivers were shouting, but Annabeth just kept driving at break neck speed.

"WHAT THE HADES ARE YOU DOING?" Nico shouted at her. "WATCH OUT!" Annabeth swerved and barely dodged a pick-up truck. "Hold on!" she screamed. She turned a very sharp left and drove on as fast as she could.

"Annabeth, for gods sake! Slow down!" I shouted. She didn't answer, but kept driving. Instinctively, I looked behind us, and finally understood what she was doing. Right behind us, was a….no way. "It's a-a-a…" I stammered.

"Minotaur!" Annabeth screamed. Nico whipped around and his eyes grew wide. "Annabeth, go faster!"

"I'm trying!" The minotaur was running through the traffic and pushing the cars out of his way. "How could they not see it?" I asked her.

"The mist is a powerful thing," she replied. "What?" I said, but she was too busy with avoiding cars as fast as she can to answer. She stayed like that for ten more minutes, until she stopped on the side of the road. "Get out both of you. We need to distract it long enough to get away," she said. "Run to the docks, and I'll follow you in a minute."

"Wait. What are you going to do?" I asked.

"You'll see in a sec. Just go, both of you," she said, and re-started the van. Nico and I got out quickly and started running down to the docks. As I ran, I heard Annabeth shouting, "Hey, ugly! Over here!" I heard a snort from the minotaur as she threw her shoe at it. Then she got in the van and started driving towards the end of the highway. When the road was clear, she drove into the trees on the side of the road. Just before she hit the first tree, she opened the door and jumped out, like in those action movies. She rolled down a small hill of dirt and stood before she got to the bottom. She stumbled a little, then started running towards us.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" She reached me and grabbed my hand and started pulling me. Nico was already loading the ship with our 'luggage' which was made up of three backpacks. We ran and didn't stop until we got onto the ship, and untied the rope tying it to the docks. The minotaur tried to jump onto the ship with us and managed to grab hold of the edge. It began to climb. "Um, Annabeth," I said. "You might want to lend me your sword now."

Annabeth, who was busy getting the mast fixed to catch the wind, looked to where I was standing and gasped. She took out her sword and swiped at the minotaur's scrambling hands. The swipe severed three of its fingers and it gave an angry roar before we heard a splash, and the minotaur was no more.

For now.

That night, I had the weirdest dream ever.

I was on an island, where the sun and the moon were rising together. The sky and the sea seemed to be fighting. All around me were fighting animals: owls, doves, and peacocks were pecking at each other, a boar was attacking a donkey, a pig was oinking at a goat, and a horse was stepping on a tortoise. All the while, a three headed dog was running around barking furiously.

I saw myself trying to run away. I wanted to shout at me, tell me to stop being a coward and do something, but my voice wouldn't work. I saw myself jump into the lashing sea, drowning, drowning…

"AHH!" I shouted and fell onto the wooden floor in a tangle of covers. I heard footsteps and saw Annabeth come in with a concerned look on her face. I could feel cold sweat running down my face and back. I got up and re-fixed the covers on my bed and sat down trying to look like nothing happened. It didn't work.

"Oliver, are you alright?" Annabeth asked.

I wasn't, but I found myself saying, "yeah, I'm fine. Bad dream." Which was sort of true. Right? Annabeth looked at me sympathetically and felt my forehead. She yanked her hand away as quickly as if she'd touched fire. "My gods, Oliver. You're burning up. Let me make you some tea. Maybe it'll make you feel better." She stood up and left the room. After a few minutes she came back holding a cup of steaming tea. "Careful. Its hot," she said, handing it over to me. I took a sip and put it on my night table to let it cool down.

The ship was rocking back and forth, and I was not feeling too well. Annabeth stood by the window of my room and looked at the water splashing up and down onto it. She was still wearing her jeans and camp half-blood t-shirt, so I assumed that she was keeping watch before she came. She sighed then turned back to me. "So, Oliver, what was your dream about?" Her grey eyes were so intimidating. I told her everything, but I left out the part of me running away. I knew that dreams for demigods were like visions. She'd already told me that. I just didn't want her to think that I was freaking out or anything.

When I was done, she scrunched up her face in thought. "The animals must represent the gods. I just know it," she said. She looked straight at me. "Oliver, we need to find the symbols of power. We just have to. If we don't, the gods will never stop fighting. And that is never a good thing."

"Hey, its ok. I'm sure we'll find them. We just need to take it one step at a time."

She looked at me and smiled. "You're a cool kid Oliver. And you're right. We just need to keep our hopes up."

She ruffled my hair and told me to go to sleep. I didn't argue, since I was dead tired. Before she went I said, "Thanks for the tea, Annabeth."

The last thing I saw was her smiling and saying 'you're welcome'.


	7. Chapter 7

After what seemed like seconds, I woke up to the sound of splashing water. Not surprising, since we were in the middle of the ocean, but I thought it sounded closer and I could already hear the sound of the ocean. I opened my eyes just a bit, and saw sunlight streaming through the windows and onto my bed.

Sleepily, I got out of bed, only to jump back onto it as my feet touched something cold and wet. I rubbed my eyes and squinted into the sunlight. I looked down at the ground of the ship and was worried to see it drowned in water. I got up and got dressed, then I went outside to see what was going on.

I opened my room door and blocked the sunlight with my hand. Still squinting, I walked across the deck. Then I heard Annabeth's voice calling out. "Good morning Oliver," she said casually.

"Hey, Annabeth. Um, what's with all the water? Did it rain last night?"

"I don-," the rest of her sentence was replaced by a sigh. "Oliver, you know, being the son of Apollo, god of the sun, you can stare at the sun the whole day. Your eyes are able to do that, so you can stop squinting."

I opened my eyes and looked around me. She was right. I stared at the sun straight in its sunny face and could have stayed like that for hours. _Cool_, I thought. I turned to look back at Annabeth again. "That's useful. So, you were saying, about the water?"

"Well, its possible that it rained after I went to bed," she said. "But I really doubt it. If it were rain, the water would be in puddles by now. This is just too much water." She paused for a minute then continued, "I also found a fish on deck. You know what that means don't you?"

"Sushi for lunch?"

Annabeth gave me a be-serious-Oliver look and rolled her eyes. "No. It means that all this," she pointed at all the water around us, "is most likely from the ocean."

"Ok, so there might have been a wave or something," I said, determined not to worry. Annabeth looked at me, still obviously worried, then she sighed and threw me the bucket. "Oliver, do me a favor and continue carrying out the water while I wake Nico up. Gods, that boy can sleep through a hurricane…"

I leaned down and started filling the bucket up with water. After a while, my back started to hurt. I stretched and leaned against the edge of the ship. Just as I was about to go back to work, the ship lurched forward. Yelling, I slipped and skidded across the wet deck to the front of the ship. As I tried to get back up, a large shadow eclipsed the sun. I stared at the deck, terrified of what I might see if I looked up.

Slowly, I lifted my head towards the sky, only to be met with the scariest sight I'd ever seen. Right above my head, was a gigantic sea-monster. The first thing I noticed was it's nose, which covered half of it's round flat face and had hair coming out of it's nostrils. I could see part of it's huge flat tail and it's slimy webbed feet, which, apparently, lined both sides of it's immense body.

In other words, I was absolutely petrified with fear.

I tried to open my mouth and call out for help, but my voice wouldn't work. I just stood there, frozen, unable to do anything. It opened it's mouth and I could see rows and rows of large yellow fangs covered in moss and other things I didn't bother trying to identify. I took a step back and tripped over the bucket that I had in my hand a second ago. The monster looked down at me with milky white eyes and I knew I was doomed. Wait a minute, I thought to myself. Milky white?

Something clicked in my mind, but I didn't have time to ponder it. As soon as it opened it's mouth again, my instincts took over. I stood up and ran across the deck to the back of the ship. I looked around for a weapon, anything, but there was nothing. I was sweating and breathing really heavily. Where were Annabeth and Nico? I ran towards the door that lead to the lower rooms for the crew, went through it, and shut it behind me. I was met with a bunch of wooden stairs and had no choice but to go down them. Halfway down the stairs, the ship lurched again and I stumbled into someone.

"Ow," the figure said.

I almost cried with relief. "Annabeth?"

"Oliver? Are you alright?"

"No," I practically whimpered. "Annabeth, there's a giant sea-monster that—"

"WHAT?" she shouted and went back down. A minute later, she returned with Nico, who looked like Annabeth had just poured water all over him. His clothes were dry, but his hair was plastered all over his face. "Annabeth, what in the name of Hades is going on?" he asked. She answered by taking her dagger out and running back up the stairs. Nico and I looked after her in confusion and had no choice but to follow her.

"Oh, my gods," was Nico's first response when he saw the monster. "Annabeth, what the Hades is that?"

"Scolopendra," she replied. She was gripping her dagger so tight, her knuckles were losing color. "It literally means millipede in Greek. Ok, Nico, try throwing your sword at it."

"Try? What, you think it won't work?" he asked.

"It's skin may be too thick to be affected by the Iron. Just try."

Nico aimed and threw his sword skillfully at the monster. It lodged itself straight up its nose. "Eww…" he said. We waited to see what would happen. Nothing did. All Nico's throw did was anger the monster even more. We each dove to one side of the ship as the Scolopendra roared and dug it's head straight through the ship's deck and into it's hull. The ship was now cracked in two, and each of us were on a different side. Nico and I were on one side and Annabeth was on the other. She was fighting the monster single-handedly, and neither I nor Nico had any weapons to help her. She stuck her dagger into it's jaw, but as she tried to pull it out, the Scolopendra jerked it's head upwards and Annabeth along with it.

Meanwhile, Nico and I were throwing the sharpest parts of the broken hull and throwing them at the monster. A lot of them were getting stuck into it's thick hide, but none were actually hurting it. We tried to distract the monster from Annabeth, but that was no use now that it was practically giving her a piggy ride.

Then we heard her screaming, but it wasn't in fear. She was saying something and pointing at the monster's open mouth. I had no idea what she was talking about, but Nico apparently spotted something. "Oliver, look at that thing lodged between it's teeth."

"What, moss?" I said.

"No, its—" the rest of his sentence went up in a gasp. "No way," he said, awe-struck. Then he turned to me. "Oliver, are you afraid of the dark?"

I was surprised that he was asking something like that when our friend needed serious help, but I answered, "Um, not really…"

"Good," he said, and grabbed my hand. Before I knew it, everything went black.

I opened my eyes when I could breathe again. And I wished I never did, because somehow, Nico managed to get me inside the monster's mouth. We were standing on it's tongue, which was slimy and squishy and not somewhere you would want to be.

"Oliver, come on!" Nico shouted from beside me. I looked to where he was making his squishy way towards it's many jagged teeth. "What are you doing?" I shouted back. He pointed at the specific spot he was headed and I finally saw it. Glowing green as seaweed, the three spiked trident of Poseidon glistened in between the Scolopendra's many yellowing teeth. I ran as fast as I could on the saliva covered tongue and caught up with Nico, who was having a real problem on getting it. The monster's jaw wouldn't stop moving up and down, and Nico was trying to pry out the trident without having his arm chomped off. We both tried together, and just as it was closing it's mouth again, we managed to pry it out.

Suddenly, confusion and chaos surrounded me. I heard an agonizing scream from beside me, then everything went black. Seconds later, I saw a flash of blonde then everything went dark again, and all the while I could feel my firm grip on the glowing green trident.

* * *

As soon as the darkness cleared from around me, I felt myself gently hitting sand. I opened my eyes, and saw Annabeth's face leaning over me. When she saw me open my eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked to my left. I looked to where she was standing to be met with a sickening sight.

Nico lay to my left with his right side completely covered in blood. He was pale and sweaty and completely unconscious. I stood up quickly and walked over to Annabeth, who was searching in her bag for something. I was surprised she remembered to take it with her, considering the events that just happened. She stopped rummaging and took out a small flask and poured it onto Nico's wounds. They slowly began to heal. I looked at the effect with my mouth hanging open. "What is that?" I asked in awe.

"Nectar of the gods," she replied. "I should probably stop now. Nectar can heal, but it can also burn us alive if we use too much," she closed the flask and placed it back into her bag.

"What happened to him?" I asked looking at the still unconscious Nico.

"He got hurt when you were both getting the trident," she said pointing behind her, where the trident lay, untouched, on the white sand. "I think the monster's teeth closed on his arm and leg. Then he shadow traveled onto its head to get me and shadow traveled again here." She looked down at him in concern. "He shouldn't have done that. Shadow traveling once is tiring enough, but three times…" she shook her head.

I stayed silent. That was really brave of him. Then again, how else would demigods survive, if not through bravery. I sighed and looked tiredly at the setting sun.

"We should set up for the night," Annabeth said, standing up. I nodded and helped her carry Nico as far from the ocean as possible. Then I went back to get the trident.

By the time we finished setting up a makeshift tent out of branches and a fire, night had already fallen. Nico was still unconscious, but his arm and leg had stopped bleeding and his face was regaining its color. Annabeth and I sat around the fire eating the fish she had caught and cooked.

"Hey, Annabeth," I said. "That was really brave. Of both of you."

Annabeth took a bite out of her piece of fish. "You were just as brave, you know."

I looked down and said something that had been on my mind for quite a while. "No, I wasn't. I don't even know how to use a sword, Annabeth. If it wasn't for you and Nico, I would probably be dead by now," I put my plate down, feeling too ashamed to eat. "The Oracle was wrong. This can't be my destiny. How can it be, if I'm the most likely to die on this quest?"

Annabeth smiled. "A son of Apollo, doubting the Oracle? That's a new one," she stood and sat back down next to me. "You know, Oliver, Nico was just like you when he first came to camp. Except younger and more annoying. He couldn't hold a sword, let alone use it. Then his older sister died, and he couldn't depend on anyone anymore. Only himself. So he taught himself to sword fight and use weapons. You can do the exact same," she poked my shoulder. "Besides, you're a son of Apollo. You're destined to use a bow and arrow. All you need is that first push, and voila. You're an archer." She picked up two twigs and gave one to me. "As for sword fighting….we can practice together. How about it?"

I looked at her gratefully. If she wasn't going to give up on me, then neither was I. "Ok," I said. "How do I begin?"

"Well, first is your position…"

**A/N: To all Harry Potter and Inheritance Cycle readers. I got the part with Nico getting injured and shadow traveling from 'Deathly Hallows', when Ron is splinched, and the Annabeth training Oliver from 'Eragon' when Brom is training him. I just thought they were really cool parts of the books and I wanted to use them. If you hadn't noticed it, well, now you know :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If not, tell me why in a review, 'cause I'm always open for criticism.**


	8. Chapter 8

Official letter of discontinuation

Uh…yeah. I had no idea what to write afterwards, so…yes this story shall now be discontinued and I will write a different OC story. Thanks for reading.


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